#459 Harrsion Bernstein, Founder of Soldiers to Sidelines, on Giving our Former Soldiers the Ability to Serve Again Through Coaching
Release Date: 12/11/2025
#479 Dusty May, 2026 NCAA Champion Coach of Michigan Men's Basketball, on Creating a Culture of Error in and a Player Centered Environment in Practice, His Non Negotiables, and the Importance of Love in Coaching
Way of Champions Podcast
This week we welcome Dusty May, Head Coach of the 2026 NCAA Champion Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball team. He was hired in 2024 by Michigan and immediately turned the program around winning 18 more games than 2023 and leading the Wolverines back to the top of the Big 10 and to the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2026 they went 37-3 and defeated UConn in the NCAA final to take their second ever national title. In this incredible conversation, May shares what his non negotiables are, how he creates a player centered environment centered around decision making and a willingness to make the right kind of...
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#479 Dusty May, 2026 NCAA Champion Coach of Michigan Men's Basketball, on Creating a Culture of Error in and a Player Centered Environment in Practice, His Non Negotiables, and the Importance of Love in Coaching
Way of Champions Podcast
This week we welcome Dusty May, Head Coach of the 2026 NCAA Champion Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball team. He was hired in 2024 by Michigan and immediately turned the program around winning 18 more games than 2023 and leading the Wolverines back to the top of the Big 10 and to the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2026 they went 37-3 and defeated UConn in the NCAA final to take their second ever national title. In this incredible conversation, May shares what his non negotiables are, how he creates a player centered environment centered around decision making and a willingness to make the right kind of...
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#478 When Hard Things Happen, Culture Matters the Most with Erin Quinn, Middlebury College Athletic Director
Way of Champions Podcast
This week we welcome back Erin Quinn to the podcast. Quinn has spent the last twenty years as the athletic director at Middlebury College in Vermont, being recognized as the National AD of the Year in 2021. Under his tenure, his teams have won 19 NCAA championships, 69 NESCAC conference championships, and 29 Middlebury athletes have won individual NCAA championships. Prior to becoming athletic director, Quinn served as the head men's lacrosse coach at Middlebury, winning three NCAA national titles and six NESCAC championships. What we love most about him, though, is that he is known as "A.D....
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#477 Daniel Coyle, NYT Bestselling Author, on How to Flourish, Find Meaning, Joy and Fulfillment in Sports and Life
Way of Champions Podcast
Daniel Coyle (@danielcoyle) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code, which was named best business book of the year by Bloomberg BookPal and Business Insider. Coyle has served as an adviser to many high-performing organizations, including the Navy SEALs, Microsoft, Google, and the Cleveland Guardians. His other books include, The Talent Code, The Secret Race, The Little Book of Talent, Hardball: A Season in the Projects. His newest book is called Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment. This book is about building the environments that make us feel...
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#476 Mentlaity Wins with former Harvard Womens Basketball Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith,, NFL and MLB Sport Psychologist Dr Jonathan Jenkins, and Sport Psychologist and NCAA Champion Dr. Kimberly O'Brien
Way of Champions Podcast
This week on the podcast, we are joined by three incredible guests: Kathy Delaney-Smith, Dr. Jonathan Jenkins, and Dr. Kimberly O'Brien. Kathy Delaney-Smith is the winningest head coach in Ivy League women's basketball history. She spent 40 seasons at Harvard University, winning 11 Ivy League titles and taking her teams to six NCAA tournaments and eight women's NIT tournaments. Her teams won over 600 games, including 12 seasons with more than 20 wins and finishing above .500 in 31 of her final 33 seasons. She has been inducted into numerous Hall of Fames and received numerous accolades across...
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#475 The 20 Year Journey to Three Olympic Hockey Gold Medals with Ken Martel, USA Hockey Senior Director of Player and Coach Development
Way of Champions Podcast
In 2026, USA Hockey accomplished something no other nation has ever done, winning Olympic gold medals for Mens, Women's and Paralympic Ice Hockey. Yet this was not something that happened overnight, and in fact was the culmination of nearly two decades of growing the game and modifying rules and game formats in order to develop more skillful players and a much larger player base to choose from. And who better to discuss this journey than one of its architects, Ken Martel. Ken Martel was named senior director of player and coach development in November 2022. He is charged with helping...
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#474 Joe De Sena, Founder of Spartan Obstacle Course Racing, on Why We Need to Teach Our Kids to Do Hard Things
Way of Champions Podcast
After building a multimillion-dollar pool and construction business in college, and creating a Wall Street trading firm, Joe De Sena set his sights on ripping 100 million people off their couches by creating the Spartan lifestyle. He moved his family to Pittsfield, Vermont to operate an organic farm, a bed and breakfast, and a general store for hikers. It was here his passion grew for ultramarathons, adventure races, and endurance events, and thus the idea for Spartan was born. With more than one million annual global participants at more than 270 events across more than 40 countries, Spartan...
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#474 Joe De Sena, Founder of Spartan Obstacle Course Racing, on Why We Need to Teach Our Kids to Do Hard Things
Way of Champions Podcast
After building a multimillion-dollar pool and construction business in college, and creating a Wall Street trading firm, Joe De Sena set his sights on ripping 100 million people off their couches by creating the Spartan lifestyle. He moved his family to Pittsfield, Vermont to operate an organic farm, a bed and breakfast, and a general store for hikers. It was here his passion grew for ultramarathons, adventure races, and endurance events, and thus the idea for Spartan was born. With more than one million annual global participants at more than 270 events across more than 40 countries, Spartan...
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#473 Jason Sacks, CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance, on Educating One Million Coaches and Making Systemic Change in Youth Sports
Way of Champions Podcast
Jason Sacks is the CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance (@positivecoachus). He joined the organization in April 2006 and has since served in a variety of capacities, including President, Chief Development Officer, EVP for Business Development & Philanthropy, Director of Partnership Development, and as Executive Director of PCA’s Chicago, IL chapter. Jason began his career at PCA as the Partner Development Associate for the New Jersey/Philadelphia region. Most recently as PCA’s President, Jason led the organization’s growth of impact to millions of youth participating in youth...
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#473 Jason Sacks, CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance, on Educating One Million Coaches and Making Systemic Change in Youth Sports
Way of Champions Podcast
Jason Sacks is the CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance. He joined the organization in April 2006 and has since served in a variety of capacities, including President, Chief Development Officer, EVP for Business Development & Philanthropy, Director of Partnership Development, and as Executive Director of PCA’s Chicago, IL chapter. Jason began his career at PCA as the Partner Development Associate for the New Jersey/Philadelphia region. Most recently as PCA’s President, Jason led the organization’s growth of impact to millions of youth participating in youth sports and created...
info_outlineHarrison Bernstein is the founder of Soldiers To Sidelines (STS) and has served as executive director since May 2014. STS evolved from a passion project to a burgeoning nonprofit once Harrison resigned from coaching college and professional football to focus 100% on the STS mission. Harrison was able to attract key advisors and officers to help steward the mission. Since 2018, the board has grown to over 21 leaders in the military, sports, and business, and has built a staff of 9 employees. Harrison led his team to develop key partners and sponsors such as USO, Team RWB, Wounded Warrior Project, Women Veterans Alliance, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the Randy Walker Legacy Foundation and the NFL NY Jets. In fact, he was awarded the NFL Salute To Service Nomination by the NY Jets for the second time this past year.
Most recently Harrison authored and published “The Everyday Coach: Harnessing the Magic of Influence.” The book is provided free to every STS Soldier Coach and all profits from sales support Soldiers To Sidelines. Harrison also hosts “Harrison Bernstein’s Everyday Coach,” an accompanying podcast that highlights leadership lessons learned from military heroes, business executives, and coaches to steward the craft of coaching in everyday life. In the past, Harrison has coached football and sports performance for several teams in the NFL, NCAA DIV I, II, and III, and at the high school level. While coaching, Harrison taught in the Master’s Program of Exercise Science at George Washington University for seven years. Harrison graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Economics, was voted captain of the football team, and earned All American honors for three years and Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1997.
Connect at www.SoldierstoSidelines.org
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